Stories by the Campfire
by The Nerdfighter
Summary: A series of flash fiction/drabbles all with a camping theme. Break out those s'mores, kids and gather 'round the campfire while I tell you a story.
1. Howling Winds

**Author's**** Note****:** *sigh* Yes, I know. I promise, I was working on the next chapter for "Sugar, Spice, and a Splash of Mutagen", but the words just weren't flowing - weren't connecting. So, I decided to write something else. August is approaching and not only does that mean we're getting closer and closer to the release of the TMNT movie, but that also means I'm gonna be going camping soon. :D And with my FRIENDS! I've only ever been camping with my family so going with just my girlfriends should be a fun, new experience. :) And because I'm so pumped for that, I decided to start out a camping story.

Now, I'm going to be trying something new. Rather than coming up with a plot for a camping story, I've decided to just write a series of little one-shots focusing on the topic of camping. They're going to range from drabbles, to flash fiction, to dialogue-only pieces, and so on and so forth. Each fic will be no short than 100 words and no longer than 1,000 words. Very short, sweet, and to the point ficlets that'll range in rating as well as genre. Nothing will go over the T rating. As for the genres, like I said, there will be various of kinds going from comedy to romance to fluff to horror - hell, I might even throw in some t-cest. Though, like I do with my "Words Unspoken" story, it'll be extremely mild. Don't wanna scare any of you readers away. lol

Alright, I think I've explained enough. Every ficlet will have a camping theme to it and every chapter will be posted with a little bit of info on what it's about, like the pairing (if there is one) and the genre. I have a prompt list stored in my head, but if any of you readers have any suggestions, feel free to let me know and it just might end up in this story. :) I hope this puts you all in the camping mood!

Enjoy!

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**Flash Fiction: 907 words**

**Donnie/Mikey**

**Brotherly Fluff**

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The whistling howls pierced through his nerves like a pointed syringe.

Body curled tight, Mikey's gaze shifted wildly throughout the inside of the tent, his sleeping bag held firmly just underneath his chin – mouth clamped shut. Eerie shadows frolicked teasingly over the tent, casting images of tree branches hooked and crooked, creating the imagery of elongated claws curling over their sleeping quarters, just waiting for Mikey to close his eyes. He felt his limbs tremble, partly because his sleeping bag was doing nothing to keep him warm and partly because he was scared out of his wits, the wailing winds doing nothing to quell his shaken nerves. Their first day camping and Mikey couldn't even get through the first night? What would his brothers think of him?

Swallowing hard, Mikey slowly lifted himself up into a sitting position and gazed over his brothers. Like he figured, they were all out for the count, but Donnie happened to be the closet one resting next to him, his sleeping bag positioned perfectly in the middle of the tent. Scrambling to his knees, Mikey wormed his way closer toward his older brother.

"Donnie?" He whispered, his body hovering over Donnie's head like an umbrella. "Donnie? Donnie, wake up."

"Mmmph?" Donnie mumbled, his tired eyes cracking open ever so slightly. "Mikey?"

"Hey, you awake?"

"What?"

"I said, are you awake?"

Don blinked at him owlishly. "Did you seriously interrupt my sleeping to ask me such a stupid question?"

"No." He shifted inside his sleeping like a child who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I interrupted your sleeping because _I _can't sleep."

"Oh, goody. Now we can suffer together," Don retorted grumpily. He turned over on his side away from his baby brother, his eyes screwed shut, though he could already begin to feel the tiredness in his eyes slowly depleting. "I packed some Melatonin in the first aid kit. Just take some of that and it should knock you out."

"Hey, dude, come on," Mikey pleaded. He tugged at Donnie's shoulder and forced him on his shell again, only to be greeted by Donnie's lovely scowl of frustrated drowsiness. Mikey winced, reaching at the back of his neck and rubbing it nervously, his eyes cast down at the ground. "I-I … I'm not used to any of this. Being outside, out in the open. Hearing all these noises, so … unfamiliar and … and scary…"

"It's just the wind, Mike. It's not going to hurt you," Donnie pointed out, propping himself up on his elbows. "And we all made sure we picked a nice, secluded area. There isn't a campsite for miles."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Mikey whispered, his body tensing the second he heard Raph stir around in his sleeping bag. No doubt, his hotheaded brother would tease him to no end about how he couldn't even sleep the first night of their camping trip. All because the sound of the wind and the fact that if anything were to happen to them, there'd be no sign of help for miles. He figured being out in the open – away from the confined space of the sewers – would be a cool experience. But in the end, it was downright terrifying.

For a moment, Don hadn't said anything. Just simply stared at his baby brother, his face blank and eyes half open. Mikey bit the inside of his cheek, feeling stupid for acting like some kind of five-year-old who was complaining about a monster being under his bed or something. Maybe he was wrong to wake up Donnie. After all, there were times when he didn't have much patience and the fact that he was half-asleep, Mikey was waiting for him to just turn away and force him to go back to his spot and sleep, not wanting to deal with something so … childish.

He tensed when Donnie shifted in his sleeping bag, scooting as close to the folded part as possible and then zipping it open. "Get in," Donnie ordered and Mikey couldn't even recall a moment where he moved so fast.

Squirming his way inside the sleeping bag, he shifted on his side, giving Donnie more room to rest comfortably. Doing the same, Donnie shifted to his side and snuggled against his pillow, his chin practically resting on top of Mikey's shoulder. "If you don't go to sleep after this, I'm smothering you with this pillow until you pass out."

"Y'know, you sound a lot like Raph when you're half-asleep," Mikey chuckled, the warmth of his brother's body heat spreading across his skin. Subtly, he snuggled a little closer, hoping Donnie wouldn't notice or try to shove him back. To his surprise, Donnie actually curled an arm around his body, his shell pressed lightly against his older brother's plastron. It felt nice. Comforting. Almost like a security blanket only warmer and soothing, the sound of Donnie's heartbeat slowly lulling him into a calming slumber.

"Hmmph," Donnie chuckled tiredly. "I'm only mildly offended by that comment, but because it's the middle of the night and we're on a family bonding type of camping trip, I'll let it slide."

"Thanks." Mikey smiled, his eyes drifting shut as sleep began to finally run its course. "For everything, bro."


	2. Black Sea of Trees

**Author's Note****: **What's a good ol' campfire story without a little horror added to it? Only nine more days until I hit the road with my friends! Gotta dig the tent out of my garage and take it to my friend's house soon so we can figure out how to set up the damn thing. Man, a weekend being grown ups and fending for ourselves in the wilderness? With our creepy little imaginations, I'm sure we're bound to break each other out once the sun sets. Maybe I'll print out some CreepyPasta fics to take with us so we have something to read by the campfire. Should be fun. :D

Alright, I haven't written anything creepy in a while, so this is kind of a small exercise to get myself back in the groove. Hope you enjoy it!

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**Flash Fiction: 998 words  
**

**Raph/Mikey**

**Horror**

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He raced through the forest like a bat out of Hell, arms extended outward as he cut through the low hanging branches and scattered shrubbery, the jagged edges of bark slicing through the palms of his hands. But Raphael didn't care – too fueled with adrenaline to notice the blood seeping through his wounds and trickling down his fingers. He needed to get away. Needed to find his brothers, wherever they were.

Wherever they were hiding.

Shards of hail pricked his skin, the clap of thunder sending a jolt straight through his racing heart. His body begged for air, but his legs kept on moving, determined to get away from the thing that had attacked their campsite. The thing that dragged Mikey away. Leo urged them to stay together, for it was easy to get lost in this black sea of trees. But when they heard their baby brother's frightful screams into the distance, Raphael immediately charged deeper into the forest, the sound of Leo and Donnie's voices echoing behind him.

But there was nothing in his wake. Empty paths lead into various directions, but Raphael couldn't remember which path he had taken that lead back to Leo and Donnie. Every tree looked the same, every bush matching the other. The ground was covered in dead twigs and fallen leaves and the ground felt soft and spongy beneath his feet once the downpour started to occur. He was lost, with no way to contact his brothers and figure out where they were. He felt stupid for running off.

And when he heard the guttural sound of a throaty growl, stupidity immediately morphed into fear.

Clouds of fog could be seen coming out of his mouth with every exhale of breath he took, the temperatures dropping fiercely the deeper he fell into the forest. Daggers pierced his chest with every inhale of breath he took and it didn't take long before Raphael's knees finally gave out.

Twigs and damp soil smeared across his face, his fingers clawing into the earth to drag his tired body through the forest. He could feel its presence hovering dangerously over him and Raphael wanted nothing more than to get away as safely as he could.

Paranoia flooded his senses. It was almost like he could feel its jagged nails scraping across the edges of his shell, feel her frozen breath lingering at the nape of his neck, her teeth crooked and pointy and gleaming in the silver moonlight that peaked through the darkened storm clouds.

"Raphael…" It whispered, sharp and menacing. "Raphael!"

"_RAPH_!"

His eyes shot open, peering into the distance just enough to see past the showering hail. "Mikey?"

"Raph! Over here! Hurry!" His brother called, sinking into the trees until all Raph could see were the ends of his soaked, orange mask.

"Mikey! Mikey!" Raph screamed, finding his strength and rushing to his feet, kicking up clumps of mud and soil as he tore through the forest.

"Hurry!" Mikey urged desperately, his figure coming back into view as Raphael ran faster. The mass amount of trees began to split, less and less coming into view until Raph noticed that they were coming close to a cave. Without any hesitation, Mikey slipped through the small entrance and urged Raphael to follow.

Sliding on his shell, Raphael slipped into the cave and gulped large amounts of air, raindrops sliding against his shivering skin. He opened his eyes, not even realizing they were closed and blinked owlishly when he noticed how incredibly dark the cave was.

Hoisting himself up, he reached out into the darkness and quickly grabbed onto Mikey once he felt his brother's presence. "Mikey! Mikey, are you alright? Are you hurt? What the hell happened? How did you get away?"

The questions kept flowing as he examined his baby brother as best he could through the darkness, his fingers grazing over his arms and plastron to see if he could feel any cuts or bumps. Nothing out of the ordinary, which made Raphael sigh in relief, holding his brother close. "You had us worried sick, Mike. We thought we … we thought we had lost you."

"Where are the others?" Mikey asked with cold precision. It was a tone Raphael wasn't used to hearing from his little brother and he flummoxed, taken aback.

"Uhh," he ceased his hung, but still kept his arms wrapped around Mikey's frame. "I don't know. I lost them in the forest when I heard you screaming."

"Hmm…" Mikey hummed, pulling himself away from Raph's grip. The tone in his voice was almost as cold as his skin, so cold it turned the raindrops sliding down his frame into little shards of ice. What the hell was wrong with him? Why was Mikey acting like this all of a sudden?

Absentmindedly, Raphael slowly reached for his _sai_, his eyes slowly adjusting through the darkness as Mikey's frame slowly started coming into view. "Mikey…?"

"I guess you'll have to do," his brother interrupted him, the undertone of his voice raspy and so unlike himself. "I'm sure the others will emerge at the sound of screaming. After all, it worked on you."

"You…" He fell backwards on his shell, kicking his feet and pushing himself out of the cave as Mikey grew closer. "W-What the hell are you!?"

"Oh, don't you worry," the creature grinned maliciously, it's jagged, pointed teeth gleaming in the moonlight until it charged forward, striking Raphael at the neck and pinning him down into the spongy soil. Thunder crashed and lightning struck, a strip of light highlight the features of Mikey's face, his eyes feral, his smile curved into a vicious grin. But when he spoke, Raphael swore he could hear the cracks of his baby brother's innocent voice, buried underneath a tone that was demonic and sinister.

"You're little brother is still here," it whispered, controlling Mikey's fingers to pierce through the skin of his neck. "He's still here … eager to watch you _die_."


	3. Pitching A Tent

**Author's Note****: **Got this idea earlier today when my friends and I were setting up the tent in our friend's backyard to make sure we understood how to set it up. That way we didn't look like idiots over at the campgrounds. lol

This is my first attempt at writing JUST dialogue, so I hope I did an okay job. Depending on what time we leave tomorrow, I MIGHT post another ficlet before we set off for the campgrounds. I'm super stoked and can't wait to hit the road! Eek! First time camping without any parents around! :D

Enjoy.

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**Dialogue Fic: 750 words**

**All the Turtles**

**Comedy**

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"You sure you guys don't need any help? I've set up a tent before, so it's not like it's anything new to me."

"Nah, we got this, April. Just sit back and have us guys worry about it. You won't have to lift a pretty little finger."

"It'd be helpful if you actually read us the directions, Mikey."

"Good call, D. Uhm, let's see … uh, we have all the poles, right?"

"The red ones, yeah?"

"There's black ones too, Raph. And what's this sheet for? Is this the tarp?"

"No, Leo, that goes underneath the tent so we're not laying on solid ground. The tarp should be a smaller covering with hooks at the side to strap on to the poles."

"You mean this?"

"Yep, that's it! We don't need to worry about that yet. Right now, we're focusing on actually putting the tent up. The slips on the top should be where the poles slide through and the hooks at the bottom should be where the pegs go."

"Okay, why isn't Dr. Dorkenstein the one reading us the directions? Mikey's still lookin' at it like he's tryin' to decipher a code or something."

"Have you seen these directions, bro? It's like looking at that flow chart Donnie made to get April to hang out with him."

"Wait, what?"

"Nothing! Nothing. Heheheh. Uhm, so, yeah, how many poles should we have, Mikey?"

"There should be five red poles in total."

"But there's seven."

"Leo's right. Two of 'em are longer than the other red ones."

"And there's still these black ones. What do you think these are for?"

"Maybe they're for swattin' at bears?"

"Why would they package sticks in a tent box specifically for fighting off bears?"

"I dunno, just in case ya run outta bear mace?"

"…That's a thing?"

"Yes, Leo, surprisingly, they have developed a repellant used to ward off bears if such a situation arises while roaming the outdoors."

"Wait, so what're we supposed to use if a bear attacks us? I don't remember us packing any bear mace, dudes."

"That's what we got these sticks for, apparently."

"We're not using those sticks to ward off bears, Raphael. Besides, they're most likely used for putting up the tent."

"I thought that's what these red poles were for? Mikey, quit turnin' the directions upside down and give it to Don. You can help Leo and I figure out where these poles go."

"Just slip the shorter poles through the slips at the top and cross the longer poles over so that they make an X."

"Wait, there's a dial thingie at the top. And there's five holes around it. I think this is where the shorter poles go, dudes."

"Well then what're these longer poles for?"

"Maybe if swattin' at the bears with the black poles don't work, you can use the longer ones as javelins?"

"Yeah, because that makes sense. I swear, Raph, sometimes you're almost worse than Mikey."

"Guys, the longer poles are used to hold up the sides. They slip over the window and then intermingle with the poles near the opening and the back."

"Got it! Now how do we stick the ends of the poles in the dirt? Anyone pack a hammer?"

"That's what the pegs are for, Mikey. Try not to hurt yourself slipping them through."

"_Ouch_!"

"What did I just say, Raph?"

"Screw you, Leo! The damn thing wouldn't budge so I figured stomping on it would do the trick. Next time I'll just hammer it down with the handle of my _sai_."

"Guys, I think we got it! April, does it look okay?"

"Looks pretty sturdy to me, boys. Nice job. And you were right, Mikey. I didn't even have to lift a finger."

"Told ya. We got this, bros. Ninja Turtles are our names, and pitching tents is our game!"

"Yeah … don't say that again, Mikey."

"Guys, we never figured out what these black sticks are for. They're not found on the schematics of the tent, all it shows are the positions in which the red poles are slipped through."

"I told ya, they're used in case of bear attacks."

"Fine then. So if a bear attacks, you're not allowed to use your _sais_. All you'll have are a couple of black sticks to protect you."

"Don't worry, dude. The second a bear shows its face, we'll whip out our sticks and beat 'em till that bear can't take it!"

"Mikey … just … stop talkin'."


End file.
